The Initiative
by redraposo
Summary: You are part of the Avengers Initiative; a group of highly trained and extremely skillful individuals. With each member being polar opposites of one another, can you all pull together to become the best team the world has ever seen, or will you crumble when mankind needs you the most? You never thought saving the world would be this difficult…
1. The Letter

The Initiative

Hey guys, this is my first fanfic story… I hope you like it! ^^

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Avengers or any of its characters.

SUMMERY: You are part of the Avengers Initiative; a group of highly trained and extremely skillful individuals. With each member being polar opposites of one another, can you all pull together to become the best team the world has ever seen, or will you crumble when mankind needs you the most? You never thought saving the world would be this difficult…

Chapter 1: The Letter

The TV flickered with an unsettling sound and filled the room with white noise. A half eaten bagel and a box of cereal were sitting nonchalantly in the corner of the room, whose only source of light came from a cheap bulb you had long forgotten to replace. The carpet was no longer a 'Magnolia Cream' as it said on the tin, but had faded and worn to a less attractive mushroom colour. The wallpaper was still intact but had started to rip in places; in some areas even showing the plasterboard hid beneath. The room's current predicament was due to the permanent vacancy of the owner – you almost never set foot in this place that you had once called home. It was now a sort of rest stop that you had come to hate. You were always moving. You had no time to upkeep the shabby apartment; and you knew there was no need. Why renovate a room you never use? Your job was probably the main reason why the area had become so dilapidated. It required your full attention. Everything you could do should be done, and everything you could learn should be learned. That's just the way it was. It was constantly evolving, and – though you liked that aspect – you found yourself coming to dislike the amount of true effort you needed to put into the job. S.H.I.E.L.D had found you eight years ago. Or rather, you had found them. A normal day of life had caused you to visit your bank. Something to do with your mortgage repayment – though you never quite recalled the exact details. It was that day that a few local criminals had thought it wise to come in, partially armed, and attempt to rob the entire bank of all its money. You were quick to react. All you really remembered was acting on instinct. You held a concealed weapon permit – something your overprotective father had forced you to carry – and now, here you were, doing the only logical thing you could think of. You withdrew the gun from the holster and started to randomly point and shoot.

They had been watching. They had always been watching.

S.H.I.E.L.D had contacted you later that day. They had said something about 'loyalty to your country' and 'how much better you wanted your life to be'. Of course, you had no idea what they were talking about. Some of the words they used you didn't even understand. But you had promised yourself that if ever an opportunity arose that would get you out of your mediocre job, you would take it. Even if it turned out to be something that sounded like a complete lie.

You couldn't believe it when the opportunity turned out to be true. Your employers were called S.H.I.E.L.D, whom you had found out were a secret government espionage and military law-enforcement agency. It had baffled you as to why exactly they had chosen you to join a military spy agency. Until that day, you didn't even know if any such spy agency existed and you were pretty sure that you didn't belong with it. When they took you on, they explained to you why. It was something to do with the way you held the gun in the bank that day and how you positioned yourself. They had said it was your hand eye to coordination and how you moved and reacted in a situation of extreme stress. 'Only a few skilled individuals in the world can do what you just did' was all you took in before a flurry of questions were pouring from your mouth. They cut you off quickly and explained that, with the proper dedication and training, you could become one of the very few elite superassasin's. Without meaning, you had laughed in their faces. This was total bullshit. Just because you had pulled a trigger on a gun, and aimed vaguely at some mediocre crooks didn't mean you were some highly trained killer. You excused yourself from their presence but not without gaining a warning from them. 'Do not waste the gift you have.' You scoffed, and departed.

Walking through the tattered room, you came to realise why you had went back. These people, even if they were offering something completely unrealistic, were actually offering you a chance. A chance to break free from your mind-numbingly monotone life. In your heart, you knew all along. You knew you would go back, and so did they. They hadn't stopped you leaving. They could have – but they didn't. You later scolded yourself for only lasting 3 days before curiosity got the better of you.

It wasn't hard to get a ride to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. They were so sure you would return that they had taken the liberty to send an official looking coupé to your building every day. You remember vaguely thinking of what your neighbours must have thought when they saw you – of all people – getting into a suspicious-looking car.

You laughed quietly to yourself; all alone in the empty room. You allowed your fingers to trace the edge of the coffee table. Bringing them up to your eyes, you became mildly amused to see dust gracing your fingertips. It had taken five years for them to train you to the highest quality; after all, you were to be a secret government spy. They used every method, and every technique. You learned styles, practises and routines that you didn't even know existed. Some were a little questionable and their way of teaching could be called brutal – even, at some points 'vicious' – but you had grown to accept anything they flung at you and, after five years of rigorous training, they sent you out on your first mission as a rookie eradicator.

You blinked hard. It seemed like so long ago. You allowed your hands to trace the coffee table again in the semi-darkness. You stopped abruptly when you felt something that did not belong to the counter. Eyes now adjusted to the darkness, you looked down and were able to make out what seemed to be an envelope. It was A4 sized; thin and agile looking. You studied it for a few seconds, weighing out whether you should open it or not. In the end, as proven before, your curiosity got the better of you and you swiftly scooped up the letter, eyes scanning the front of it for any important messages. None. Just the usual 'TOP SECRET' embellished in red. You pondered for a moment as to why S.H.I.E.L.D had chosen to drop their letter off here and not just given it to you as they had regularly done. It seemed in the eight years you had been with them; they had learned all your characteristics and traits. They knew you far too well and, as of the time being, they knew you would come here. You smiled slightly, for a brief second underestimating the true capability they possessed. You sighed, feeling not quite ready for another mission at this time, but – against your better judgement – opened the letter anyway. There was a single sheet of white paper inside. Printed on the top was the S.H.I.E.L.D logo – confirming your suspicions – and the title of the mission was 'The Avengers Initiative'. You smiled. It certainly did have a ring to it. Below were listed a few of your fellow agents; Clint and Natasha were part of this assignment already. The letter then went on to describe the goal of the operation, who else would be involved, and why they needed you. Your eyebrows rose when you noticed the infamous Tony Stark would also be asked to join. Man, you hated that guy. There was also someone called Steve Rodgers and Thor Odinson enlisting. You swore that Thor was a name of some Norse God but you couldn't be sure. It didn't sound like S.H.I.E.L.D's normal route for a mission, but you were still interested as to what it would hold in store for you. The letter was very brief; it told you to pack for a long journey, bring any essentials, and to be ready by 8:30am tomorrow. The letter sounded like a uniform one that had been sent to everyone who was to be part of this mission – S.H.I.E.L.D knew you travelled a lot and they had all your clothes and personal belongings on the Helicarrier anyway, so clearly this letter wasn't addressed to you personally.

You took out a small cigarette lighter and allowed the flame to lick the end of the document, swiftly engulfing it in flames. You watched as you let go of the file and it fell to the floor in a crumpled heap of charcoaled paper. You had already memorised the all important details. With one last reserved glance at the old room before your eyes, you turned on your heel and strode off, making a mental note to never let your room on the Helicarrier get like that.


	2. Meetings and Greetings

Hey guys! This is the next chapter to 'The Initiative' and I hope you enjoy it!

**Just a quick shout out to everyone who viewed my story! Wow… Thank you so much you guys are seriously amazing. After I posted the starting chapter on the 1****st**** of August, I got a little paranoid that no one would read it or even find it *cries*. So the next morning I checked the views and I had loads! Well, not loads per say, but I had way more than expected. I was so shocked and really delighted that my paranoid suspicions were not true and it's all because of you guys. Readers from USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia and Spain! From all over the globe and I really couldn't be happier :D I would high five you all if I could :) But enough chatter, here is the next chapter! **

Chapter 2: Meetings and Greetings

From the back seat of the coupe, life seemed dull. The blur of ordinary life outside the tinted window made your eyes feel heavy, so you reverted to looking away. You found no need to interrogate the drivers for any details, because you knew they would never give you any. So you opted for sitting patiently like a good passenger. Resting your head against the plush leather of the rear seat you couldn't help the feeling of butterflies rising in your stomach. The Helicarrier was your stated destination so you basically thought of it as going back home; but home had a new 'surprise' as some would call it. That familiar feeling of receiving a new mission flowed through your veins, and this time, you wouldn't be alone. Six new or already fellow agents would be accompanying you for whatever this mission turned out to be and you couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. You normally received a hell of a lot more details whenever you got an assignment in the past, so to have received one with little to no prior information made you feel uneasy. Was it that dangerous? Or was Director Fury just being his usual mysterious self? Whatever it was, you would have to warn him to keep you in the know from now on. You looked up sharply when you felt the car slow down and pulling into the Helicarrier dock; an off-site secret base that S.H.I.E.L.D kept their beloved and most preferred mode of transport. You heard the familiar alarm-call that signalled a new arrival into the dock; indicating your destination was now approaching. Before the car had even fully stopped, you had already opened the door and climbed out. Waiting at a time like this seemed irrelevant. You strode away from the car; (_e/c_) eyes scanning the dock for that huge mass that was your home; while you're silver S.H.I.E.L.D logo adorning your black bomber jacket let any passersby know exactly who you were. You broke into a sprint around a mass of tall buildings, knowing the end of the dock was only a few meters away. Finally, your eyes landed on the magnificent Helicarrier. The large ship used for long-haul missions was resting at the end of the port, while Nick Fury, Natasha and Clint stood on the edge of the waterfront and seemed to be conversing in small talk. You composed yourself before walking professionally over to your fellow S.H.I.E.L.D members. Director Fury was the first to notice your incoming presence; being that he was the one that hated small talk the most. He turned his reserved look upon you before speaking.

"Good Morning, Agent (_l/n_)," You gave a small smile and stuck your hands in the pockets of your jacket, "I trust you found your journey to be a pleasant one." You could tell by his tone that he wasn't in the slightest bit interested, so you kept your answer short.

"Pleasant enough." you turned your head to the two highly trained assassins, "Good morning Clint, Natasha." You smiled slightly as they both returned your greeting with the same lack of enthusiasm. The situation then became horribly awkward as you all stood there in an uncomfortable silence. You decided to just stare at the ground in order to avoid their inept stares. But there's only so much interest gravel can hold as you found out when your gaze started to wander past the murky concrete. You stopped when you heard the unmistakable growl of a motorcycle engine. Ah, so you were waiting for the fellow receivers of that letter. You snapped your head up and watched the vehicle approach; its rider wasn't wearing a helmet so you automatically thought he was stupid. Your stance unconsciously changed from a tense position to a now more alert posture. Recognising by the riders face that he wasn't the arrogant Tony Stark, you came to the conclusion that this was either Thor or Steve. The rider stopped a few feet away from you and cut of his engine; dismounting his bike, he strode over to the four of you. He was blonde and stood at about a full foot taller than yourself, he was very muscular; his tight t-shirt under his open biker jacket showed the full extent of his build and he gave a small smile when he approached you. Nick Fury stepped forward and shook the riders hand before turning to face the rest of you.

"I would like to introduce to you, Steve Rodgers, otherwise known as Captain America." A spark ignited in your brain as you suddenly remembered documents and files on a supersoldier named 'Captain America'. He was said to have died in a plane that went down somewhere off the coast of Manhattan, while trying to pre-empt some kind of nuclear attack. You weren't privy to any first hand information, but the case intrigued you, and after asking some fellow friends and people in the know, you were able to salvage some information. He was found completely encased in ice and frozen solid. He was thawed out and then kept in a specially designed 1940's medical centre in order to allow him to come to terms with the dramatic change in history after he returned to full health. Apparently, so someone had told you, things didn't go quite to plan.

Steve shook everyone's hands politely while being introduced to each of you, before he came to stand beside you. You felt bad for what had happened to him and everything he had been through so you kindly smiled up at him. He was looking the other way, so your gaze fell back to the floor; the kind smile now wiped clean off.

Only a few seconds later, a top of the range Audi R8 sped round the buildings, coming to an abrupt halt behind Steve's motorcycle. You heard the captain breathe a sigh of relief for the safety of his beloved bike before standing up a little straighter. You kept your gaze locked in the opposite direction to the Audi; your knowledge of expensive cars made it a clear give away to who was about to step out. Just to confirm your suspicions, a somehow annoyed Tony Stark stepped out of his luxury car. You heard Natasha sigh and you remembered that she had assessed the suitability of Tony for a few missions before this one. A brief memory flashed through your mind of when you had read that specific assessment: 'textbook Narcissism, volatile, self-obsessed' and you remembered that 'doesn't bode well with others' was your overall favourite attribute. A smirk flashed across your face at how much teasing you could get away with on this one mission. Tony stepped round Steve's bike and looked at it with what can only be called a detached mock. He then pointed to it with his finger, "whose bike is this?" Tony was clearly annoyed that he had almost crashed into it and ruined his prized car. Steve stepped forward, his posture rivalling that of an army soldiers.

"Mine, sir." Tony's gaze flashed to Steve before he hummed thoughtfully and walked over to Nick Fury. Director Fury then gave Tony a look that mildly said 'If you weren't a genius, you wouldn't be here.' before he said, with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, "Everyone, I trust you know Tony Stark, son of Howard Stark and owner of Stark Industries? I believe, for some, introductions are not necessary." You nodded briefly at Director Fury. He knew only too well your hatred for the billionaire. Director Fury looked at his watch briefly, nodded at Natasha, before striding onto the Helicarrier. Natasha turned towards the silent group and spoke quickly but clearly.

"Unfortunately Thor and Doctor Banner cannot join us at this present moment. Tonight at 8pm we will have a briefing in the main terminal. Until then, those that are new should be receiving a room when they enter the Helicarrier. Those that are not," She looked towards you and Clint before giving a short pause, "…know what to do." She turned on her heel and followed Director Fury into the boat, Clint catching up and walking in step with her. Tony gave you a brief glance and sighed heavily, clearly hating the silence that had settled over the three of you.

"Well as much as I would love to stay here and continue this conversation with you two, I think I'll head on board now." With that said he took out his phone and began typing away, simultaneously climbing aboard the floating craft. You shot a glare at the back of his head, before turning to Steve.

"If you need any assistance finding your way around, I'd be glad to help." You chirped, returning to your normally bright self. Steve looked worried as he partially chocked back, "Er, w-what is a Helicarrier?" You smiled kindly – maybe he wasn't used to large flying vehicles.

"It's basically like a big ship that can fly." He looked onwards in a contemplating manner and nodded as you continued, "It's my home." Steve looked back at you with a confused expression, so you decided to explain before you further confused him, "I work for S.H.I.E.L.D, so I move around a lot. It was just more convenient to live on the Helicarrier than to only have one non-movable home."

He smiled, "I guess that does sound more convenient." You walked towards the Helicarrier and motioned for him to follow, feeling that for this mission, it would be good to have more friends than enemies.


	3. Ill At Ease

Hello there! Yet another update :D It seems like I can't keep all of these ideas in my head for too long :S but that means more chapters for you guys!

Sorry this chapter is kinda short; I thought I better end it before the actual briefing begins so that I would have an entire chapter dedicated to it. I think it would make the story flow more easily :)

**Thank you to **_**FutureOscarWinner94**_** for being my first reviewer.**

Chapter 3: Ill At Ease

As much as it worried you to admit it; being on the Helicarrier again felt weird. Yes, your room was exactly the same and yes, you had been on several hundred assignments before, but after a few heated discussions with yourself, you came to the conclusion that it was possible because there were new entities on board. This, for any S.H.I.E.L.D agent's life was a both wary and exciting time. It was exciting because new agents meant new recruitments, and new recruitments meant the operation and standards of S.H.I.E.L.D would rise, and your life on board would become that much better. It was wary because frankly if those new agents turned out to be better than you were, all hell would break loose in the cafeteria resulting in an either triumphant-looking you, or a custard-covered you.

Perhaps it was because the new crew members weren't agents at all, thus meaning they have no prior experience to the life of a government spy. You wondered if having some outsiders on the Helicarrier would make life more interesting for you – either that or more difficult.

You sighed heavily. Having so many different viewpoints at one time clouded your vision and made you less able to think clearly. You had paced around your room for over an hour before collecting your thoughts and heading to the briefing room early. You always preferred to be punctual, but when you had nothing better to do, you might as well turn up early.

Your pace was slow; giving yourself time to soak in the familiar surroundings of your portable home. The long hallways of the living quarters made walking anywhere an extreme hassle; stretching almost the entire length of the craft in order to store as many rooms as possible. A brief thought passed through your head if the 'great' Tony Stark would be living in the same room layout as yourself. You smirked. Now that would be funny to see. Strolling through the corridor, you only passed about 3 of your fellow crew members; giving each a curt nod as you walked by. The décor of the Helicarrier never failed to impress you. Everything was extremely modern; nothing more than 2 years old was present on the ship, meaning the walls in the living quarters were a sleek grey, the floor carpeted with a lush coffee colour and impressive modernist paintings hung from different points on the wall. The main level of the Helicarrier, where all of the specific types of government work took place was a completely different matter. Every piece of technological equipment was state of the ark; every room filled with motion sensors to detect any unwanted presence, touch screens and voice activated commands were inbuilt into every computer and outside some particularly covert rooms would be a retina scanner for specific access only. You enjoyed the fact that the Helicarrier was practically impenetrable. It made you feel a lot safer when it was in flight-mode.

It didn't take you long to get to the main terminal. After all, you did know this place like the back of your hand. After scanning your S.H.I.E.L.D card in the door and being escorted in by two heavily armed men, you sat down at the large table that overlooked the main flight-pit of the Helicarrier. Why they chose to have the briefing here escaped you. The room was filled with important flight controls and people working on precise cases that required a lot of attention, so to be discussing and perhaps arguing in a room like this was not the best of ideas. Still, you did get a good view of the ocean. Being the first one there, left you with two options:

1. Patrol the area until more of the required people arrived or

2. Sit down and try not to cause any trouble.

After considering what happened last time you chose number 1, which ended with a few people getting shot and you being suspended for four months, you thought you better pick number 2 this time.

It wasn't long before Clint turned up. He sat down to your left and shrunk into his seat.

"How long have you been here?" He asked, turning in his seat to face you.

"About ten minutes. Why are you so early?" You shot back, irritated by the noise level already.

"Well, I could ask you the same thing," You threw an undeserved glare at him, "But I won't." He smiled down at the table before continuing, "I always like to arrive early for important meetings. You of all people should know that." If your memory served you correctly, everytime you were sent on a mission with Clint, he would always have all the right details and all the right information. Mainly because he actually bothered to turn up to the briefings and you didn't. After a few minutes of awkward silence, the door opened again and Natasha stepped in, Steve right behind her, with an awkward blush on his face. Natasha took the seat to your right and you noticed that she was exactly on time. You didn't really expect anything less from her to be honest. Steve sat down next to her, his eyes focused on the table in front of him. He whispered an apology to Natasha before she curtly nodded and he resumed staring at the table. You frowned and leaned close to her for an explanation.

"He got lost." You smiled slightly, remembering when you first were acquainted with the Helicarrier and how much of a pain it was to learn its blue-prints, "I had to pick him up on the engine floor." Steve looked thoroughly embarrassed already, so you thought you wouldn't humiliate him further and just nodded understandingly.

You waited for another half an hour for the one and only and it irritated you to the nth degree that he didn't show up on time. Lateness was one of your pet hates. With each minute that passed, your anger seethed and flared until finally, after fifty-eight minutes of waiting, Tony Stark swaggered into the room. You had had enough. You stood so sharply that your chair fell back on itself, making Clint jump.

"You!" You hissed, pointed an accusing finger at Tony, "Why must you always be late, you arrogant prick!" You were pretty sure your eyes were almost all the way closed with the epic death-glare you were shooting him. His face twisted into a confused and disturbed expression at your disposition – clearly thinking your anger was overstated. He shrugged, a playful smirk finding its way onto his lips as he mischievously tossed his expensive phone from one hand to the other, watching you as you got even more irritated.

He inhaled loudly before smacking his gums and saying a simple "I was busy." He caught his phone and sat down. The entire group looked at you warily; scared encase you decided to explode again. One of your eyes was twitching uncontrollably; probably from the fact that it was taking all your strength not to jump over the table and attack him. Against your better judgement, you slowly slid back down into your seat, glowering eyes never leaving the rich playboy at the end of the table.

Natasha was eyeing the both of you with caution before she stood and made her way round to where everyone could see her.

"Right, if you two have quite finished," at this Tony put his hands up in innocent surrender which provoked a growl from you; making Natasha interrupt the both of you, "then I believe we should begin." She began handing out thick documents to everyone, while passing round sheets and various other assortments of information and you had a feeling that with Tony present, this would indeed be a very long night.


	4. Timing

Hello there everyone! This is the next chapter for 'The Initiative' so please enjoy it :)

Oh, and I do not own the song 'Call me maybe' :)

**Just a quick note, I'm sorry if the updates get slower from now on :( I am writing this like the reader is actually in the Avengers Assemble movie, which I only saw once in the cinema, meaning that when it gets to the proper bits I will need to wait till September for the DVD to come out so I can write the chapters with accuracy. I am really sorry for this, but I'm also in the middle of writing another story which should be up soon, so if you want you can check it out while you're waiting for me to update this story :) My apologies for the wait and any inconvenience :( But without further ado, here is the next chapter! :)**

Chapter 4: Timing

You never understood why people had used the phrase, 'Time seems to be standing still' until now. You had been in the briefing room listening to Natasha ramble on for four hours, but it seemed like eight. Occasionally, Clint had to nudge you under the table with his knee to wake you from a daydream you had so easily slipped into. You could no longer see the large mahogany table from all the data sheets spread haphazardly across it. All you could see now was a sea of white and it hurt your eyes like hell. You couldn't understand how Steve and Clint had been paying attention this long. Unless they had mastered falling asleep with their eyes open. Tony had long given up any and all illusions that he might be in the slightest bit interested, and was now currently staring out of the huge main window infront of the flight control desk. Although it pained you to admit it, what he was doing was much better than what you were doing. You felt like there was a haze of noise filling the room and that you honestly couldn't be bothered to tune into any particular voice, so just resorted to staring at a coloured graph in front of you. When that got boring – and it did within the first ten seconds – your eyes scanned the file next to it. A simple A4 sheet of paper, adorned with the S.H.I.E.L.D logo at the top, proved to be much more interesting than it originally looked. Your eyes scanned the writing on the page quickly while Tony hummed a tune from the latest charts. For some completely unknown reason, you started to glare at the page in front of you, scoffing when you recognised the tune to be 'Call me maybe'.

You went back to reading the document whilst attempting to drown out Starks annoying humming. Your eyes flickered over names you recognised, a few of your fellow co-workers, until you frowned when you came to the important details.

"A retrieval mission…" you mumbled deep in thought. No one heard you, which you were thankful for. The document stated that a one 'Natasha Romanoff' would be catching a flight to India within the next two hours, in order to retrieve a one 'Bruce Banner' for the Avengers Initiative. Your eyes widened in shock. So Bruce wasn't coming as you were told. He didn't even know he would be involved in such a programme. You laughed quietly as you once again underestimated how thorough S.H.E.I.L.D. could be. You stole a quick look in the direction of Nick Fury. He was standing alone and clearly contemplating something as he looked out of the large main window. Occasionally his eyes drifted to your group; perhaps checking in to see if any of you were causing any trouble. You thought this was the best time to bring up the subject matter, seeing that Director Fury was out of hearing range. You waited for a break in Natasha's briefing to step in.

"During the previous engagements S.H.I.E.L.D has come across, this may be possibly the most dangerous and the most rewarding. Although we have many elite assassins of our own, we believe, that with you all here and working together as a team, we can defeat any obstacle that may cross our path-"

"How long will it take to retrieve Doctor Banner?" You cut in, sensing that she would never have left any pauses for questions. Natasha smiled slightly, clearly pleased that you had taken the time to read at least one of the files she had given you.

"If my calculations are correct, and he doesn't object too much," She paused, giving some thought to the question, "maybe two or three hours." You nodded curtly, thoughts now drifting to the team members now staring at you, provoking another question.

"How many avengers will there be?" the rest of the team looked towards Natasha, some possibly wondering the same thing. She glanced across the room towards Director Fury - who was now eying you with what can only be called a reserved stare, before she answered.

"There _will_ be seven-"

"Retrieving the last member of the Avengers is a complicated matter." Director Fury had strode over to Natasha and stopped beside her, "He… also does not know he will be part of this initiative."

You searched your memory for the only Avengers name that wasn't either at this table or being retrieved soon.

"Thor." You stated. Director Fury nodded. Tony frowned, "Is that the Norse God?" When everyone was either giving him blank stares or confused ones, he turned to a simmering Nick Fury and elaborated, "Your system is easy to hack into for someone with a PhD in physics and electrical engineering." He gave one of his coy and overly proud smirks that always made you want to claw at his face.

"Despite your need to break the law, Mr. Stark, you are correct. Thor is a Norse God." your eyes shimmered at the thought of meeting a God. You wondered if he was good looking or athletically built and what his hair smelt like. Director Fury was now giving Tony a look of distaste as he resumed staring out the window. Just as you were about to ask why S.H.I.E.L.D were imploring the help of a Norse God, an alarm siren went off, flashing bright red lights into the control room that was adjacent to the briefing table and a few harassed people started running over to Nick Fury. The noise was overwhelmingly loud and made you clamp your hands to your ears in order to prevent your hearing being severely damaged. The people started to shout over the noise, and you only caught a few snippets of their conversation: "The Tesseract! It's started to activate!" and "They need you there now!" you frowned, what the hell was a Tesseract? Before you could ask any questions about it, Director Fury hurried out of the room looking extremely concerned. The only times you had ever seen him like that was when a situation of extreme danger was presenting itself, or one of the criminal elite was about to try and wipe out half of Manhattan. You just hoped that it wouldn't be something insane like someone trying to enslave all humanity and take over Earth.

You later realised that you would come to regret your choice of words.


	5. Patience

Another chapter everyone :) Review, follow and favourite if you like :) But anyway, please enjoy :)

**I'm sorry for the wait *cries* :'( This is also kind of a cliff hanger, but I'm working on the next part as we speak! So that should be up soon, but I hope you like it anyway :)**

Chapter 5: Patience

'Wait here' he had told you. So you did. You waited for the longest time. You sat on the edge of your bed in the darkness, just staring at the door. Waiting. It had been a long time since the sirens had stopped ringing, but you could still hear the echo in your mind. Your eyes kept flashing to the alarm clock in your room, but time seemed to have stopped entirely.

_3:50am._

You knew he had a duty to attend to; it was his job after all, but you couldn't help but wish that for once he would be normal and decline a serious mission. One that's only outcome would be pain and hurt. You blinked back tears that threatened to fall. You were being unrealistic. He was able to take care of himself, and you knew that. He knew that. All the same, you didn't fail to notice the way he avoided your gaze before he left. Your gaze flickered to the alarm clock again.

_3:54am._

It had been nearly four hours since he left. You didn't understand why you were so worried. He was your friend, of course, but he had been on dangerous assignments before. So why were you so worried? Was it the way director fury had explained to you all only four hours ago, that they were imploring the help of a _Norse God_? Anything to do with God's has got to be dangerous. They're extremely powerful, overly intelligent, skilled in combat and indulged in their enemies' weaknesses; after all they are _God's;_ they should know almost everything. Perhaps it was the way Director Fury had left. In a panic, his face looking concerned and – almost scared. It frightened you to know that someone like Fury – strong, experienced, powerful and resilient – could be pushed to his limits by the mention of 'the Tesseract' – something which you still didn't know anything about and that in itself worried the hell out of you. The fear of the unknown.

_4:07am._

You took it upon yourself to occupy your mind with a task in order to clear your mind. Your pistol was sitting upon your bedside table so you reached out and grabbed it. Weighing it in your sweating hands, you unloaded the magazine out of it. Reloaded it. Unloaded it. Reloaded it and sighed. This wasn't a task. You had done this countless times while on a mission and everytime you thought of a mission, you thought of him. You slipped off your bed and kneeled on the floor. Placing the gun down, you began to disassemble it. This made you mind work properly. You had to remember your training, how to properly disassemble your weapon _quickly_ without injuring yourself or others around you. There were so many different aspects to a handgun and taking them out in the correct order was difficult. You smiled slightly. Your plan was working, but it only took 43 second for you to complete it entirely. You leant back against the side of the bed and stared at the ceiling. You weren't even tired.

_4:16am._

You felt as though you were trapped somewhere between earth and another realm. You weren't hungry. You weren't bored. You weren't tired. You didn't even feel like you were in the room. You swore you hadn't blinked in minutes and you couldn't remember the last time you told yourself to breathe. Yet you were. You just didn't realise it.

_4:19am._

You heard footsteps approaching your room and immediately stood up. Anticipation washed over you; it could be _him_. The door to your living quarters flew open and light flooded in. You strained your eyes to see who was at the door; the abrupt change in lighting made spots appear in front of your vision.

"Follow me." It was Natasha's voice, and you immediately obeyed. Stepping forward, you allowed yourself to be engulfed in light as you stumbled to her side. She looked tired, but she didn't show it in her fast pace as she strode down the corridor; you almost had to jog to catch up to her.

"Where are we going?" You asked, your voice sounded drained and feeble. You coughed to attempt to fix whatever was happening to your vocal cords.

"Director Fury wants to see up in the briefing room." She turned a corner sharply and you almost fell into a wall. _'The briefing room'_ the place you had been only hours before. If Director Fury was back already and _he _hadn't come to see you yet, something must have gone wrong. Your stomach clenched at the thought. The next few minutes were carried out in silence and all you could hear was your own erratic breathing and Natasha's boot-clad feet on the carpet.

You must have been concentrating on the sounds around you for a long time as before you knew it, you were inside the briefing room. Natasha was dragging you to a seat next to Tony Stark and you only had a little energy to struggle against her firm grip but when she tightened her grasp in a warning, you quickly gave up. It was strange that now you knew that _he _wasn't here; you were suddenly tired, hungry and weak all at the same time. Tony was quiet beside you and although you hated his very existence, you were thankful that he wasn't speaking right now. Your gaze fluttered to the people sitting at the table. Natasha was beside you, her posture as acute as ever and her gaze held directly in front of her. Tony was slumping in his seat to your left, looking as if he was in the middle of a coma, his hair messy and his outfit roughly thrown on. Steve was beside Natasha, his eyes closed and his chest slowly rising and falling, rising and falling. Maybe he was asleep. You wished you could be asleep right now so you didn't have to face what you knew was coming. Director Fury was standing at the head of the table looking solemn; giving everyone his well know 'one-eyed-stare'. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it; clearly trying to find the right words to use.

"The last member of this initiative is Thor." He paused, his eye flickering between the members now sat at the table, before he continued, "His brother; another Asgardian God named Loki, has stole from S.H.I.E.L.D an energy source we hoped to harness – The Tesseract. It is vital that it returns here safely. Its power is beyond anything we have ever seen, and if we could harness it, it would mean unlimited energy for the world. In the wrong hands, however, all hell could break loose and it seems that that is exactly what Loki wants to happen." You looked at your hands, lying limply in your lap. This Loki guy seemed like a crazed maniac that would stop at nothing to get his hands on what he wanted, but why was he telling you all this?

"And one other thing." He bowed his head slightly and linked his hands together, "He…stole Clint." Natasha's head jerked up and her eyes narrowed. You sat forward in your chair, confusement washing over you and anger flaring up within you.

"How could he _steal _Clint?" You questioned, the whole idea was impossible, "He's a government super assassin, you can just pick him up and leave!" The whole group jumped slightly as you slammed your hands on the table and stood up. "Where is he?!"

_You ran forward in the heat of the moment, grabbing his shoulder, "Clint! Where the hell are you going?!" People were running to their rooms, barging past you in the hallway, pushing you roughly all while red lights flashed around you, engulfing everything in crimson. He pulled his bow closer to his chest, his eyes stern._

"_Director Fury needs me to go with him." You felt so weak, when you were trained to be so strong. Your voice failed you when you tried to speak, when you needed it the most; to tell him to be safe, and to come back alive. He looked down, breaking eye contact with you. You felt the awkwardness rise as you looked at the ground and shifted on your feet. Suddenly, you were pulled into a crushing embrace as Clint attempted to be normal. He bent his face into your hair and whispered into your ear. "Wait here." He breathed._

_And then he was gone._


	6. The Sixth Avenger

Another day, another upload! :) Review, Follow and Favourite! :)

Oh and I don't own the song 'Walking on Sunshine'

**I have finally bought the Avengers DVD! So now my uploads will be a lot quicker and a lot more accurate! So here's to a series of long, long chapter's! :) Enjoy :)**

Chapter 6: The Sixth Avenger

The past few days had been a blur to you. Natasha was away from the Helicarrier and had gone to India on a long haul mission to retrieve Doctor Banner. Director Fury needed his intellectual brilliance to track the Gamma radiation the Tesseract was emitting. A shot in the dark was what it sounded like to you. You had overheard him talking to Agent Coulson about how Loki had 'overridden Agent Barton's primary senses by simply touching his chest with a staff'. Director Fury sounded pissed. He was extremely concerned with how powerful this Loki guy was. As soon as he returned from where they held the Tesseract, he had declared that this was a 'Level 7' emergency – the highest possible warning. It struck fear into every Agents hearts. People were doubling their efforts in every way possible; no one was relaxing for even a second, and most stayed in the control room until early in the morning to finish their work. You should know. You were one of them. When Fury didn't need you to 'look after' the captain and bring him up to date with technology, you were spending all of your free time, using every utensil S.H.I.E.L.D had to track Clint. You found nothing. In any military files, or any security footage. Searching for hours gained you nothing more than a headache. Tony, however, was as flamboyant as ever. Cracking jokes and acting as if nothing bad was happening at all. He stayed well out of your way though. Maybe it was your angered growls or murderous glares that were keeping him at bay. You hadn't slept in days and you felt like walking death. You now came to realise that your only hope in this case was indeed, Doctor Banner. If he could find the Tesseract, maybe this would all end. Perhaps this was how desperate Director Fury was? To call on such lost individuals to help him. Whatever his reason was, you hoped he was right. You hoped all this would work.

When Fury was alerted that Natasha was on her way back after successfully retrieving Banner, your heart skipped a beat. This could all be over soon. The only thought that entered your mind was how you were going to hand in your resignation letter at the end of all this.

You sat at the table with Steve, overlooking the control room. Both of you hadn't spoken to each other in at least 3 days and you felt awful. It was your fault after all. You were the one that had chosen to look for Clint every night, and whenever he had tried to lighten your spirits or get you to talk to him, you had pushed him away. It wasn't that you didn't like him; you were just too preoccupied with getting your friend back here alive.

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his gaze landed on you several times, but you just decided to ignore it. He shifted his chair closer to yours but you turned your gaze in the opposite direction. Your body ached from the lack of sleep and you felt as if you were close to a mental breakdown. Then, he did something unexpected and out of the blue. He put his arms around you and pulled you against his body.

"I know how difficult this is." It was strangely comfortable, having your head against his warm chest, "I know what it's like to lose a friend." Though you said nothing, you were extremely grateful for the contact. You nodded slightly and closed your eyes, listening to his heartbeat, "but if you need anything at all, you can tell me (_f/n_), were friends." At this point, you were close to tears. Steve had forgiven you for being cruel to him, and he was just trying to be nice. Maybe it was because you hadn't been treated like this in years, you had forgotten what it felt like. At S.H.I.E.L.D everyone treated each other with a kind-hearted detachment. Even you and Clint had kept it more professional than personal. You wanted to think of Clint as your big brother, but you both had never gotten the time to start an actual friendship. What you knew about Clint you had read from his case file, and what he knew about you he got from other people. You were living under an allusion that Clint was your best friend, when in fact; he was little more than an acquaintance. But Steve was here, and he was _trying_ to be your friend. He was giving you reassurance and comfort when you needed it, and you were exceedingly thankful.

You hugged him back and whispered a 'thank you' before you heard a familiar voice.

"Agent (_l/n_) we need you up on the flight deck to escort Doctor Banner down here." Director Fury was now standing over you and Steve. You quickly stopped hugging him and stood up sharply.

"Yes, sir" He looked at you for a moment, his eyes questioning your show of affection. Though he said nothing, you knew he thought that their might be somthing going on between you and Steve. You slighly shook your head as a silent answer to his unspoken question. He blinked, before he turned and strode off to continue what he was previously doing. You motioned for Steve to join you; he stood up, and you both began your journey up to the flight deck. It wasn't going to be a long journey, being that you knew every short cut and you and Steve weren't awkward around each other anymore.

You felt that this was the right time to drop the bomb that the person Steve was about to meet could turn into an enormous green rage monster at the drop of a hat. At an angry drop, nevertheless.

"Hey, Steve?" You turned to face him, pulling a S.H.I.E.L.D issue tablet from your back pocket.

"Yeah?" You scanned through the files on the tablet, before coming to the one you desired. You double-clicked, making a video pop up on the screen.

"Just a heads up." You passed the tablet to him so he could watch the video as it played. He stopped in his tracks; you watched as his face went through multiple phases of disturbance at what he was currently watching. You thought you better elaborate on what kind of images he was now currently gawping at.

"That's Doctor Banner," Steve looked up at you, mouth still agape, "Well, it is at least when he gets angry." It looked as if Steve didn't know what kind of expression he should be pulling, so instead, he stuttered out a question.

"w-what? h-how?" You smiled slightly, Steve was going to have to get used to a lot weirder if he wanted to fit in at S.H.I.E.L.D. The video showed Bruce in one of his 'Hulk rages', picking up military vehicles as if they were rag dolls, bending the guns on tanks like they were rubber.

"He tried to recreate the serum that was injected into you." Steve said nothing, but simply watched the devastation unfold on the screen, "A lot of people were." He looked up at you with a slight hint of confusement in his expression. You just smiled kindly back, "You were the world's first superhero." He blushed slightly at the compliment and nodded, handing the device back to you.

"Hey, wait!" You heard a voice from behind you, and instantly recognised who it was. Steve was halfway through turning around to address the person when you grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction you were going.

"Don't turn around, just keep walking Captain." Steve nervously glanced around his shoulder but kept walking. Turning a corner sharply and dragging Steve along beside you, you had little time for a getaway, and unfortunately you knew it. Of course it wouldn't last long, your short flee was coming to an end very quickly as few seconds later, Phil Coulson – Captain America fanatic extraordinaire, came whizzing round the corner, almost jogging.

"Hey guys." He spoke with an air of excitement and wonder as he stared up at Steve. You sighed slightly.

"Hello Agent Coulson." You turned to him and raised both you eyebrows. Everyone on the Helicarrier knew about Phil's devotion to his favourite Superhero and when he found out that _the_ Captain America was to be part of the Avengers Initiative _and_ that he was coming aboard this vessel, he almost got up and ran around the Helicarrier singing 'I'm walking on sunshine'. Almost. Phil looked from the Captain – who was now offering a polite and somewhat creeped-out smile to his adoring fan – and then looked at you, realising that he would have to give a valid and legit reason for why he so desperately wanted to catch up with you.

"Er, actually Director Fury asked me to go with you. He wanted someone to brief Doctor Banner on his work and targets while he's here." He gave one of his Phil smiles and a brief look that said 'please don't tell Captain America that that was a lie'. You made your nod over exaggerated and sighed an "Okay, I'm sure he did" before turning round to continue your way to the flight deck. You could almost feel the awkwardness rise at the present situation. Phil was trying to make conversation to Steve who was replying politely as ever until Phil dropped the bombshell of;

"You know, I watched you while you were sleeping." You all stopped abruptly; you and Steve turning to Phil with slightly worried expressions on your faces. Phil went red, and managed to stutter out a save.

"I-I mean, I was present…while you were unconscious…from the ice…" You giggled. This was hilarious – the world's first superhero and his number one fan trailing his heels like a lost puppy, and to top it off, Phil just gave the impression that he was a little _too_ fond of the Captain.

"Come on, we'd better get a move on." You said, a grin adorning your face as you watched Steve move slightly away from Phil.

"Er, g-good idea." Agent Coulson stammered, grinning apologetically up at Steve, before catching up to your side, "I didn't mean that, it came out all wrong." Phil whispered frantically to you as Steve hung behind. You did feel a great deal of sympathy for him. If you worshipped Steve as much as he did, and accidentally let slip that you had watched him while he slept, you would probably shrink into a corner of one of the Helicarrier rooms and hibernate until this was well and truly over.

The doors to the flight deck were glass and heavy, showing off the luxury and elite design quality that the Helicarrier possessed. Your favourite part about opening these doors was that there was an automatic button to open it for you. That always made life easier. You smiled as you stepped out into the fresh air, and breathed in the refreshing atmosphere. Steve stood to your right and Phil to your left. You scanned the deck for any new arrivals, most of which had already arrived and were being unloaded. You saw a head of fiery hair, amongst the hurried rush to unload valuable cargo from the planes before the Helicarrier took airborne, and grinned, immediately forgetting your training to reserve all emotion and broke into a sprint towards her. Natasha saw you coming from a mile away, and smiled slightly at your incoming presence. Steve and Phil followed after you, and you were pretty sure they were laughing.

"Natasha!" You shouted as you slammed into her, bringing her in for a crushed embrace, "How did it go?" You grinned as you pulled away, and she smiled back at you, fixing her hair as she did so.

"See for yourself." She nodded in the direction of a nervous looking man, about the same height as you. Instantly recognising him as Doctor Banner, you whipped around to find Phil and Steve awkwardly chatting, and, pulling Steve away from Phil with an apologetic smile, took him to meet his fellow Avenger. Steve saw who you were pulling him towards and outstretched his hand.

"Doctor Banner?" You asked, as Bruce turned frantically to see you, almost knocking into two guards as he stepped forward to meet you. He was kinder looking in real life; his tousled mousey brown hair fell loosely about his face, and his smile told you that he was afraid to show true emotions. He was quite good looking – though you scolded yourself for thinking so – and his shirt and blazer gave the impression of a university professor, but you knew all too well that he was smart enough to fill the role.

"My name is Agent (_l/n_), and this is Steve Rogers."

"It's nice to meet you." Doctor Banner shook your hand quickly before shaking Steve's.

"Word is that you can find the Tesseract." Steve asked, clearly as keen to find the Tesseract as you were. Doctor Banner looked to the side of Steve, glancing behind him at Natasha and Phil, who were now deep in conversation.

"Is that the only word on me?" He kept his eyes locked on the pair of Agents behind you for a moment, before returning his eyes to Steve.

"Only word I care about." Steve's true caring and honest personality shone bright at times like these as Doctor Banner gave a half-hearted smile. You heard Natasha approaching from behind and moved to the side to allow her into the conversation.

"You boys might want to come inside; it's going to get a little difficult to breathe." Both men looked around as the alarm sounded to warn passengers that the Helicarrier was about to go airborne. You smiled; watching their reaction to this was sure to lighten spirits. You motioned for them to follow you as you walked to the edge of the deck.

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked; his face in pure awe as the turbines erupted from the water, sucking vast quantities of the liquid into their depths.

"Oh they want _me_ in a submerged, pressurised container?" Doctor Banner looked reluctant to be here, but continued to peer over the side of the Helicarrier.

"Might want to step back fella's," You grinned as you pulled both of them backwards by the hem of their shirts, "and it's not a submarine, Steve." You pointed to the ocean level, now slowly falling beneath you. Steve's jaw dropped slightly as he stared at the view, instantly recognising this to be an aircraft of some sorts.

Doctor Banner shook his head lightly and tucked his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

"Oh no," He chuckled lightly, "this is much worse."

"We should probably get inside now." You started to panic; the air was about to get really thin and you didn't want to be caught outside in it.

"Doctor Banner, if you would like to follow me, I will escort you to the main flight deck, so you will be able to meet with Director Fury to discuss your work further." You smiled at Bruce, who nodded politely and followed you and Steve inside.

"You know," Steve rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I had a bet with Fury that nothing here would surprise me," He glanced back out at the Helicarrier now rising above the earth it rested on, "and I think I might lose." You laughed slightly. If Steve thought that was surprising, he didn't even know the half of it. Natasha had gone ahead of you to update Director Fury on the progress she made during the retrieval mission and that you were bringing Steve and Doctor Banner down at the present moment, and Phil had decided to go with her. Perhaps Director Fury hadn't told him to come with you after all. A smile came across your face with a devious flicker. It would certainly be the hot topic around the Helicarrier for the next week of how Phil Coulson had single-handedly lowered his chances of becoming best friends with his all time hero to practically nil. But Steve was a forgiving guy. You were sure this would all blow over soon. You chuckled to yourself as Steve started to chat with Doctor Banner. That was, unless you were feeling particularly vindictive – which you were.


	7. 28 Kőnigstrasse

**Please – as always – enjoy :)**

Chapter 7: 28 Kőnigstrasse

It took a few attempts of small talk before you got Doctor Banner to actually answer with a full sentence.

"Please," He tucked his hands in the pocket of his trousers and smiled slightly, "Call me Bruce." You nodded back, feeling that you were finally getting somewhere in your conversation; having been previously calling him 'Doctor Banner' for the past 9 attempts.

"How are you enjoying the Helicarrier so far?" You felt a slight glint of triumph. He would have to answer this with more than one word. He paused, his eyes darting to the abundant amount of security features lurking on the walls and the high-tech brilliance of the craft.

"It's a new experience." He breathed a laugh, "Certainly not what I'm used to." You smiled kindly; at least Steve would be able to relate to that. The Captain was staying exceedingly quiet at Bruce's side. Maybe he was letting you get to know Bruce without him interrupting. Steve was very much for being a gentleman – that was one of the qualities you loved about him; he was so much different from the confident, narcissistic male that was Tony Stark.

"It gets better the longer you stay on it." You mimicked Bruce in tucking your hands into your leather jacket, "But its home for me now."

You gave Bruce a shrug, remembering when you first came to the Helicarrier and how you hated every inch of its elegant design. S.H.I.E.L.D had ripped you from the life you knew and threw you into a world you didn't even know existed. It was hard to cope for the first few years; the non-stop training they had put you under tested every ability you had and pushed you to your limits. It was rigorous to say the least. Armed combat; knives, pistols, staffs, chains – everything you could and couldn't think of, they would train you in. At first it felt like you were their joke. You were so god dammed awful at everything they tried to teach you, that you almost felt like you were the laughing stock. You almost _quit_. Fury over watched one of your knife sessions, in which you had to go head-to-head and outwit an unknown attacker. If it wasn't bad enough having your boss watch you, there wasn't even the comfort of knowing that if the blade accidently struck you, you wouldn't get hurt. They were real blades, specially made for training purposes, with longer and sharper definition. Their motto was always 'if you messed up here, you would mess up out there.' You got cut up pretty badly that time. You even have some of the scars to prove it. Fury told you to meet him on the flight deck, and when you did, he pep-talked the shit out of you. Some stuff like "I know that girl at the bank is still in there somewhere." You were grateful for him doing that though, because from then on, your progress shot up dramatically. Your armed combat became your speciality. Everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D knew that. 'To tempt (_f/n_) with a weapon in her hands was like mocking death.' You soon moved on to learning a different style of fighting; Filipino Kali. It incorporates hand-to-hand combat and weapon disarming techniques. In some aspects, it was a lot harder to master; after each session, your hands were bloody and bruised, and at one point, you even broke your wrist. _"Dedication, (_f/n_), always remember that those who do not succeed, but continue to fight are much more honourable than those who learn first time."_ Fury's voice rung through your mind, persuading you to carry on with everything you had. After a few months of injury and agony, your open-hand and reflex action wasn't too bad. Luckily, a younger assassin, who was being rehabilitated at S.H.I.E.L.D at the same time you were being trained, took an interest in you. You both found common goals in one another, common interests and common hobbies. Your backgrounds were poles apart however. You were a lowly office worker, just scraping by on the very bottom of the food-chain, with nothing to your name, while she was already a master assassin, with a very particular and very deadly skill set. You told her how difficult it was to learn all of this, and she told you to keep trying. You opened up to her, and in turn, found a friend in the one place where you didn't have any. You told her that you were:

"(_f/n_)(_l/n_), rookie fighter extraordinaire!" She smiled, and told you she was: "Natasha Romanoff, on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar in a bad way." You laughed, telling her that she didn't seem so bad to you. She looked at the table between the both of you: "It's nice to know that one person thinks so." From then on, you and Tasha were inseparable. She was the one who taught you how to read body language, how to tell what people were thinking, how to be manipulative but, most importantly – she said – how to reserve all emotions. "Emotions over-complicate things." She told you, "They blur your vision, and distract you from the task at hand. It's much better to keep them hidden and not allow them to make your judgements for you." It was a good piece of advice that had saved your ass many times. It had tilted the odds in your favour. Though you had no idea why at the time, you did everything and learned everything she taught you. You later came to realise that it was because a friend taught you; and in doing so, they would use techniques that they themselves had perfected, instead of just teaching you 'by the book'. Of course, you were given the rare opportunity to learn how to pilot a fighter jet, and as that had been a secret dream of yours ever since you could remember, you jumped at the chance – loving every minute of it. You became one of the Helicarrier's flight squad in your spare time; flying F22 Raptors and even some of the Quinjets to and from missions and were even asked to be one of the pilots of the crafts which flew beside the airborne Helicarrier, protecting it and looking out for any enemy parties. It seemed that as time passed, you loved your job more and more, and soon came to think of it as your _calling. _You were one of, and if not _the_ best weapons and jet tester that S.H.I.E.L.D had had in a long time – you knew of all the specification and layouts of every new weapon, and gained the trust of a one Director Fury, and – on his orders – rose to the standard of a super assassin.

Eight years later and here you were; all you're training complete, now a world-class master assassin, with Natasha still one of your closest – and only friends.

Steve saw a look on your face that he knew all too well. You were delving into the history of your own life; where you had flourished, where you had failed, and where you wished you could just forget. He knew because he almost always had that look on his own face.

He turned to Doctor Banner, who was currently watching your face go through different complex emotions and finding that maybe the two of you weren't so different after all. Doctor Banner turned to him and smiled wearily.

"This must all be very new to you." Steve lingered on the question for a moment before answering; "Actually this is all kind of familiar." He waved to the various military stockrooms and armed guards outside important rooms. Bruce nodded understandingly.

You finished the retreat into your darkest memories just long enough to catch Steve and Bruce's conversation, grinning to yourself as they found a subject to relate to.

As the three of you rounded the corner, you stepped in front of them, opening the doors to the Helicarrier flight deck. The noise level was at its optimum; Director Fury standing just behind the control computers, overlooking the flight deck and all his workers. You strode over to him, while Steve looked around, totally in awe of the entire experience as Doctor Banner hung back. You could hear a few higher agents stating the Helicarrier's current condition as you stood beside Director Fury, your hands clasped behind your back.

"Engine output is maximizing, sir, we are stable."

You turned to see Steve glancing up at the levels of the flight deck, a grin spreading onto his face.

"All engines operating. S.H.I.E.L.D emergency protocol 193.6 in effect." Agent Maria Hill turned to Fury, "Were at level, sir." Agent Hill was becoming one of your new friends, though you could tell she was much more interested in her work than becoming your buddy. Nevertheless, you gave her a short wave, and she smiled back at you. Director Fury placed both of his hands on the control grips, "Good." He raised his voice so everyone could hear, "Lets vanish." Stepping forward, you took over on elaborating what he meant.

"Engage retinal reflection panels." You nodded at Agent Hill who presumed giving your orders. You heard the 'whizz' of the panels operating and knew the ship was about to become a whole lot more stealthy. Leaning into Director Fury, you proceeded to tell him that Doctor Banner had arrived safely and was waiting for his orders. Director Fury nodded.

"Reflection panels engaged." The overhead speaker announced loudly.

"Take over please, agent (_l/n_)" You smiled and stood in his place, as he made his way over to Bruce, but not before being stopped by Steve who embarrassingly had to admit defeat and hand over his 10 dollars.

"Gentlemen," He greeted warmly, tucking his newly found money into his jacket and walking over to Doctor Banner. You concentrated on the multiple screens before you; indicating the engine output, the horizon level, the altitude at which you were currently flying and in which direction you were headed. After registering everything was operating normally, you stepped off the podium and made your way to the briefing desk. You noticed Director Fury was about to talk to Doctor Banner, and made your way over to them.

"Doctor, thank you for coming." Both men shook hands.

"Thanks for asking nicely." Bruce mumbled, as if his kind façade hides true pain and hardship underneath. He looked away awkwardly, "So… how long am I here for?"

"As soon as we locate the Tesseract, you're in the wind." Fury nodded truthfully to Banner who took in his current situation. You walked over to the railing across from the briefing table, and leaned over them to watch Phil manage a group of younger agents sweeping for images of Loki and the Tesseract. You watched as Steve made his way around to your line of vision, but staying out of the way of Phil for fear of what happened last time they were close. You heard Bruce ask where S.H.I.E.L.D were on tracking the Tesseract and noticed that they were coming over to stand beside you, Phil looked up from his work and elaborated.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops; if it's connected to a satellite, its eyes and ears for us." You saw Natasha look over a profile of Clint before she piped in, "That's still not going to find them in time."

"You need to narrow your field," Everyone looked to Bruce, "How many spectrometers do you have access to?" Director Fury shrugged.

"How many are there?"

"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays," You pointed to one younger agent who was watching Bruce with interest, clicked your fingers to the computer monitor she was sitting at and mimed 'do it'. She immediately started to locate every research lab that S.H.I.E.L.D had on file. Bruce continued, taking off his jacket as he spoke, "I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places." He started to roll up his sleeves and looked around, "Do you have anywhere for me to work?" Director Fury looked impressed and clearly pleased with his choice of bringing Bruce in to locate the Tesseract, and turned to Natasha.

"Agent Romanoff, could you show Doctor Banner to his laboratory please?" She stood up and strode over and past Bruce. You caught her swiftly saying, "Your gonna love it doc, we've got all the toys" and smirked at how cool she could be when the world was on the brink of war. You made your way over to where you could better see the tracking of Loki, and Phil came up to stand to your right.

"Any luck?" You asked tucking your hands into your jean pockets.

"Not yet." Phil replied, "But we're bound to find something soon, right?" You smiled.

"Sure." You waved at Steve to come join you on the platform, "Maybe this would be a good time to ask him to sign your trading cards." You joked teasingly as Steve stood beside Phil.

"Enjoying life on the Helicarrier yet, Steve?" You asked innocently. He sighed, crossing his arms.

"It's certainly something else." You made a noise of agreement as you leaned into Phil.

"Now, ask him now!" You whispered harshly, giggling quietly as Phil turned to Steve.

"Would you," He paused, allowing Steve to turn to face him, "b-by any chance… know of Captain America Trading Cards?" Steve looked confused.

"Trading cards?" Steve repeated sounding almost anxious. He blushed slightly when Phil explained they were all about him and the heroic things he's done.

"People collect them." He went on, "And they're quite valuable…I have some of them –"

"He has all of them." You chirped, making Phil go red. He paused, slowly taking in a deep breath as you stifled a laugh, "Could you sign them for me?" He blurted. Steve looked taken aback and blinked once, twice, before he answered, "Er… Sure," Steve smiled slightly, "Of course I will." You saw Phil swell with pride and grinned, realising that Phil's life dream has been accomplished.

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble." He added.

"No, no. It's fine." Steve answered, crossing his arms again.

"It's a vintage set. Took me a couple of years to collect them all." Steve nodded, his eyes never leaving the air in front of him. Phil crossed his arms and swayed on the spot proudly, "Their mint. That's like boxing around the edges –"

"We've got a hit!" Never before in your life had you been so glad for an interruption than at this very moment. Your heads snapped to the agent who called it, "67% match. Wait, cross match 79%" You all crowded around his computer stall.

"Location?" You asked nervously, knowing that some form of attack was in the near future.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Kőnigstrasse," You planned out a route to Germany in your head as the agent continued, "He's not exactly hiding." You leaned closer to the computer screen, taking a mental image of Loki. He had sleek black hair, and defined handsome features. You noticed that he was dressed in a smart suit and was carrying – what you presumed – was the same staff he had used to override Clint's senses. A wave of anger ignited within you but Director Fury's voice made you suppress your feelings – just as you were told.

"Captain?" Steve looked behind him, "Agent (_l/n_), you're up." You both nodded, as you turned to Steve.

"Time to go to work."


	8. Shoot to thrill, Play to kill

Sorry for all the aircraft talk, I had to do some research into 'How to fly a plane' for this one :P But please don't kill me if some things are wrong :'( I do not own the epic song 'shoot to thrill' by ACDC.

Chapter 8: Shoot to thrill, Play to kill.

"Remember," You pushed the throttle forward on the Quinjet, "Loki will try to manipulate your emotions and distort your perception of reality." You turned to Steve who was buckling himself into the seat, looking nervous at being on one of these crafts, "And relax, I'm a good pilot." You took your feet off both of the wheel brakes and let the Quinjet roll forward into tick over. Jerking the throttle forward, you allowed the high-tech craft to launch into a speeded take off and as your co-pilot cleared the commands just as you came to the end of the Helicarrier, you pulled up on the control stick and let the plane soar into the night air.

"How long have you flown one of these things?" Steve asked, gripping the sides of his seat at your aggressively quick take-off.

"For about four years," You pushed both throttle sticks to make the aircraft fly faster, and allowing it to climb to a safe altitude, "I'm one of the best pilots S.H.I.E.L.D has." You gave a smug grin as Steve nodded, looking slightly pale. You checked both your primary flight display and your navigational display, and when saw that both were acting normally, resumed to flying the jet like a normal pilot – though it wasn't very fun, at least it was safe.

"How long will it take before we're in Germany?" You heard Steve ask, as your co-pilot levelled the engine output for an increased speed. You looked at your co-ordinates over the Earth briefly, before judging that you would need to hurry up if you wanted to catch Loki.

"About 20 minutes." Steve looked as if he was arguing with himself. He clearly wanted – like you – to get to Stuttgart fast so Loki wouldn't escape, but, on the other hand, that would mean asking you to fly faster; one thing he wasn't prepared to undergo. Thankfully at that very moment, Director Fury's voice appeared over the intercom speaker.

"Agent (_l/n_), we are on a time sensitive schedule," You looked at Steve quickly, who took that as a sign to tighten his belt, "and we can't have Loki escaping."

"Yes, sir." You pushed the engine throttles forward as far as they could go, and let the Quinjet go supersonic.

"Is Stark with you yet?" Fury's voice asked sharply through the speaker. You gritted your teeth at the billionaire's name.

"No." You bluntly responded, not liking the fact that he had reminded you that Tony was supposed to by flying with you. Tony told you, with a flawless grin, that he would be right next you – flying in the air beside your Quinjet. And sure enough, he _wasn't_. He wasn't even anywhere in sight. Slightly enraged, you checked the navigational display. You were eight miles out of Germany, and roughly 60 miles outside of Stuttgart. You thought out loud, working out how long it would take you before you had to pay Loki a visit.

"The speed of sound in miles per hour, divided by the amount of minutes in an hour," You bit you lip and Steve questioned your sudden outburst from his seat in the hanger, "Hang on, Steve" You paused for a second, working out the large equation, "761 miles per hour, divided by 60." It was a few seconds before you got the answer, "Three." You stated to Steve, tilting your head back so the statement was aimed at him. He looked confused and leant closer to the cockpit.

"What?"

"We're three minutes outside of Stuttgart." His face lit up when you told him that.

"Did you just work that out?" He looked impressed as you nodded.

"I have to do those calculations a lot." You admitted sheepishly, "There aren't any calculators on this craft." You hummed a laugh at your own joke.

"Can you get mobile calculators now?" Steve asked, his face a mix of interest and disbelief.

"Of course you can Steve, this isn't 1940!" You laughed. He went red, and looked slightly dejected. You then realised just what you said.

"Oh, Steve! I didn't mean it like that; it was just a phrase –"

"Don't worry about it." He looked up at you and smiled – though it was only a tug at the edge of his lips. You felt awful nonetheless.

The clouds whipped by the screen of the plane like soft swirls of cotton candy as you descended through the altitude to lower the plane. You pulled back on the throttle to avoid flying low over a civilian population going supersonic. Fury told you to get as close as you can to "28 Kőnigstrasse" so that Steve could make his jump without having to land from a height. You did as you were told, flying silently over the city; the bottom of the Quinjet mere feet away from the roofs of buildings. This was it. This was what it all came down too. A few more streets and you would be able to make your attack. You just hoped it wouldn't cost too many lives.

"Get as close to the ground as possible, (_f/n_)" Steve pulled up the hood of his Captain America outfit over his head, and withdrew his shield from his back, while you lowered the Quinjet through the buildings, careful not to cause any damage as you rounded corners of structures and passed over streets and cars. Your knowledge of Stuttgart told you that you were about 30 feet away, and as you turned the plane onto the plaza of your destination, you wondered why you ever thought you could miss it.

A crowd of people, maybe two-hundred, were crouched, kneeling before the man you had come to stop. Projections of him stood around the group; encapsulating them in a circle, their mocking gaze sweeping over the frightened civilians. Anger flared up within you. He was cornering them, like helpless sheep. You could hear his voice calling out to them as he stood, waving his sceptre around to keep them terrified. His helmet bore two curved horns, golden and glinting in the light cast by the cities buildings, while his cape was olive green, and flowed out behind him as he prowled through the group. Steve placed a hand on your shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly as you relaxed your clenched grip on the control wheel. You saw an old man, feeble and alone, stand while the rest of the crowd kneeled in submission. He spoke directly to Loki, clearly standing up to the injustice taking place. He looked brave even when Loki spoke entirely to him. You opened the back of the Quinjet doors as Steve readied himself for the jump. As you turned back to watch the events unfold, you saw Loki raise his sceptre towards the man, the blue light it emanated shone brighter as your realisation set it.

"Uh, Steve?" You questioned frantically as the supersoldier turned to you, "Please hurry up." Steve took that as a warning and leapt from the back of the plane, you looked to see Loki fire a beam of light at the man and you held your breath. Fortunately, Steve landed infront of the civilian, protecting him with his star studded shield. The light hit the shield and bounced off, hurtling back and striking Loki in the chest. You exhaled slightly shutting the back of the Quinjet and sighing in relief. You heard Steve address Loki personally – their voices carrying clearly through the night air – telling him that 'last time he was in Germany and saw a man standing above everyone else, they ended up disagreeing.' Loki crawled onto all fours, standing up and mocking Steve, saying he was:

"The soldier. The man out of time." Steve repositioned his shield.

"I'm not the one who's out of time." You thought this was an appropriate time to threaten Loki with the Quinjets weaponry system. You clicked on the button that dropped the heavy machine gun from the bottom of the craft as you flew forward a couple of feet. Clicking on the microphone your voice echoed through the cold German night.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down." Loki looked enraged that Steve had brought back up and aimed the sceptre at the Quinjet.

"Oh no..." you mumbled, seeing what was coming. Loki shot the beam directly at your craft and you had to emergency swerve, only missing it by a couple of feet. Both men immediately erupted into battle as the civilians fled from the area, running in a panicked fashion. You watched with clenched teeth as Steve would get the better of Loki, and then Loki would get the better of Steve. The supersoldier's shield was quickly tossed to the side as Loki moved in to toss him through the air. You shook you head worriedly, wishing – for once – that Tony would hurry up and get here.

"The guys all over the place…" You whispered frantically, as Loki stood above the captain readying for a strike. You snapped out of your thought as red lights appeared on the inside of the Quinjet, "PA system override" boxes popping up on your display panels. If that wasn't enough, _'shoot to thrill'_ started playing through your speakers and out into the night air. You recognised the song instantly, being a fan of ACDC, by you had no idea why the Quinjet would suddenly want to play them.

"Agent (_l/n_), you miss me?" You knew instantly the voice that had spoken through your intercom speaker, and you never thought that you would be so happy to hear it. Both Loki and Steve looked around, confused at the noise that had suddenly emanated from the air. A smirk crept its way onto your lips as Tony Stark flew past the Quinjet in his Iron Man suit, knocking Loki into some concrete steps with one of his thruster beams and landing on the ground just as the song reached its pinnacle. As much as you disliked him, you had to admit that he was super cool. He aimed the multiple assortments of weapons at Loki and spoke;

"Make your move, reindeer games." Steve stood beside him, panting and slotting his shield on his arm. Loki looked wary, and raised both his hands in surrender, and strangely, his outfit shimmered and disappeared into a regular suit that was fully made of black material. Tony immediately disengaged all his missiles and lowered his hands.

"Good move." You started to descend the plane, ready for landing to pick all three men up. Steve nodded his head towards Tony, "Mr. Stark." he greeted. Tony tipped his head towards Steve, responding with a cool; "Cap'in" as both men stared down at the Demi-god who had, moments before, attempted to rule half of Germany.


End file.
